Nov. 15, 1997

Stanford Cross Country Teams Win NCAA West Regional Titles

TUCSON, Ariz. - The #1 ranked Stanford men's and women's cross country teams won the NCAA West Regional Cross Country Championships, which were held Saturday at the Dell Urich Golf Course.

In the men's race, the Cardinal totalled 50 points after placing four runners in the top nine. The Oregon men finished second with 57 points and will join Stanford as the West Region's representative at the NCAA Championships on Nov. 24 at Furman University in Greenville, S.C.

"We wanted to come and run strong together," said Stanford head coach Vin Lananna. "We were light in the back positions because we made a couple of substitutions right before the start. We were aiming to score 50 points, and that's exactly what we did. The team did all we could do to qualify."

Nathan Nutter was Stanford's top runner with a fourth place finish. He was timed in 30:37.70 over 10,000 meters. Brad Hauser placed fifth at 30:42.20, Jason Balkman in seventh in a time of 31:09.60, and Brent Hauser in ninth place with a time of 31:190.30. UCLA's Mebrahtom Keflezighi won the individual title with a time of 31:15.90.

The Cardinal women, the 1996 NCAA champion, tallied 37 points, boasted by placing four runners among the top five. Oregon placed second to get an automatic invitation to the NCAA's.

"I felt they all raced extremely well by running in a close, tight-knit pack," said Stanford women's coach Beth Alford-Sullivan. "That's what it is going to take for us to do well in ten days at the NCAA's. Our top kids had a day that shows what they are capable of. We have to continue to run well all the way through the seventh spot."

Arizona's Amy Skieresz captured her 13th straight cross country race over the past three seasons, running the 5,000 meter course in a time of 16:59.90, 14 seconds ahead of the second place runner, Stanford's Julia Stamps (17:13.40). Three more Cardinal runners followed right behind - Sally Glynn (17:17.00), Mary Cobb (17:20.80) and Sarna Renfro (17:20.80).

Men's Team Results (21 teams)       Women's Team Results (24 teams)
10,000 meters                       5,000 meters
Dell Urich Golf Course              Dell Urich Golf Course
 1. Stanford             50         1. Stanford          37
 2. Oregon               84         2. Oregon            78
 3. Washington State    103         3. Washington        98
 4. Portland            150         4. Arizona          127
 5. Washington          151         5. UCLA             149
 6. Arizona             152         6. Boise State      165
 7. UCLA                153         7. Washington State 201
 8. California          177         8. USC              240
 9. Boise State         206         9. California       264
10. UC Santa Barbara    278        10. Arizona State    304
Men's Individual Results (145 runners)      Women's Individual Results (145 runners)
10,000 meters                               5,000 meters
 1. Mebrahtom Keflezighi, UCLA  30:15.90    1. Amy Skieresz, Arizona            16:59.90
 2. Bernard Lagat, WSU          30:33.00    2. Julia Stamps, Stanford           17:13.40
 3. Abid Abdirahman, Arizona    30:36.90    3. Sally Glynn, Stanford            17:17.00
 4. Nathan Nutter, Stanford     30:37.70    4. Mary Cobb, Stanford              17:18.90
 5. Brad Hauser, Stanford       30:42.20    5. Sarna Renfro, Stanford           17:20.80
 6. Peter Gilmore, California   30:50.10    6. Marie Davis, Oregon              17:26.80
 7. Jason Balkman, Stanford     31:09.60    7. Milena Glusac, Oregon            17:28.90
 8. Mark Hauser, UCLA           31:14.00    8. Elisa Riedy, California          17:35.00
 9. Brent Hauser, Stanford      31:19.40    9. Marisa Avendano, Sacramento State17:38.90
10. Rob Aubrey, Oregon          31:20.80   10. Nicole Kulkov, Fresno State      17:43.30
Other Stanford runners                      Other Stanford runners
25. Jonathan Weldon             32:05.20   23. Sara Moore                       18:22.50    
31. Chris Lundstrom             32:12.50   36. Mary Huang                       18:48.50    
34. Jake Maas                   32:22.20   71. Shaluinn Fullove                 19:21.10

Stanford University Cross Country